S.C. Code Ann. § 42-1-520: Defenses available to employer operating under title when employee is not so operating.

An officer of a corporation who elects not to operate under this title, shall, in any action to recover damages for personal injury or death brought against an employer accepting the compensation provisions of this title, proceed at common law and the employer may avail himself of the defenses of contributory negligence, negligence of a fellow servant, and assumption of risk, as such defenses exist at common law.